Cable pulling machine



Oct. 13, 1953 w. CHAUVIN CABLE PULLING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 22, 1951 JNVENTOR.

Wi/brad A. Chauv/n Oct. 13, 1953 w. A. CHAUVIN 2,655,653

CABLE PULLING MACHINE Filed March 22, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Wi/br od A. Chow/h INVENTOR.

Oct. 13, 1953 w. A. CHAUVIN 2,655,653

CABLE PULLING MACHINE Filed March 22, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Wi/brod A. Ghauw'n IN VEN TOR.

Oct. 13, 1953 w. A. CHAUVIN 2,655,653

CABLE PULLING MACHINE Filed March 22, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig. 7

a FM H "a 132 Wi/brod A. Chow/n JNVENTOR.

Patented Oct. 13, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT "F F'I'C'Ei CABLE. PULLING -MACHIN E Wilbrd AiChauvin, AlbuquerquqNi Mex.

..-Application Mai-ch 22, 195 1;.Serla.l-No. -2l.7,033-

T'Gl'aims. "(01. 25H1843) This invention. relates. to new and useful provements in cable pulling machine's .and,..the primary object. .of the...present. inventionis to providean apparatus. for..use. in. installing electrie cal conductors. in conduitsrespeciallyiinthe sizes that exceed .the normal. strength .of. a' mechanic's pull and. the inertia .that comes...from'.irregular Dull.

Another important. object .of the present1in-. ventionis toprovide a, portable. power winch for the pulling .in.or out. of electrical wiresor cables into conduits, and. a winch which can beadapted toother. limited. uses, such as raising or lowering motors, switch gear andthelike.

Yet another object of the present inventionis to provide ..a machine. of the aforementioned character that may. be .readilytransported within a building to the desiredlocation where the pulling in is to be done,.and then quicklvset. to the proper angle v and anchored. in place for a pull at. any angle. I

A further objectv of .thepresentinvention to provide a cable. pulling. machine .includinga. winch that can be free-spooled for pullingwire rope into conduits and .acontrolfor the .winch whereby. the winding and-unwindingspeed ofthe winch may. be regulated in accordance with the size wires or. cables commonlyusedin electrical installations.

A still. furtheraim, of the present. inventionis to provide a cable pulling machine .thatIis simple and practical. in construction. strong and reliable in use, eflicient in operationand which is readily movable within a building or exteriorly of buildings by attachment to a. towing vehicle.

Other objects and advantages reside in theydetails of construction and operation. as more fully hereinafter described and. claimed,- referencebeing. had to the accompanying drawings'forming part vhereof, wherein. like numerals refer -to..like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure .1. :is a diagrammatic". vievashowing the present invention in use;

Figure. 2 is a. perspective'view of .the -present invention with its cover-applied;

Figure 3 is atop plan viewof. the present. iIl-l vention, the cover removed;

Figure .4 is .a side elevational view of Fi ure 3;

Figured-ism side {elevational .view takempnthe opposite side fromFigureA;

Figure 6 is a rear end view of the invention;

Figure? is a front end'view of the invention; and,

Figure 8 is an enlarged detailview of the-Winch used in thepresent-invention and showing j the brake means therefor.

Referring now to the drawings ingdetail, wherein for. the purpose of illustration, there is discloseda, preferred embodimentof .the present invention, the numeral Ill represents a wheeled frame or welded steel trailer assembly whose rear end. supports pairs. of legs ,l 2 .Jc'arrying axles! 14 0n.which rubber tired wheels. I6 are mounted. A winch. or ,cabledrum I8 is supported. for.ro-.

tationiin brackets mounted on a. platform .22.

The platform 22 is fixed bytwelding or the like to the. frame land 'the winch I8 is disposed transverseh! of theifra'mei intermediate the ends ofthe frame.

A pair .of upper. and lower, guide pulleys 24 and 26 .a'remounted. on a bracket. 28 rising from the forward inwardly tapered end of the frame llland receive therebetween-acahle orwwire ropej'C ex-. tending. forwardly from the cable drum or which l8;

Means is provided for guiding cablefbeing applied. to or.removedfromfthe'drum l8..and this meansconsists of a. vertically swingable' lever 30 pivotedlto the platform. for. movement alongside;

of. and. in. front of the cabledrum l8. fiTh'e'lever. 311 is formed with an intermediate looped portion 32.'that opposes 'the'drum l8 and which portion 32 slidably. receives. thecableC. I

..A power planter-motor. is supported on the platform 22 .atthe rear endof .the.frame and includes a drive shaft 36 .on which a series of var.- ious sized sprockets'aa are mounted. Theshaft 36..parallels..the.\drum drivingshaft 4a on.'.which a. series .of various sized sprockets. are mounted. 'Ihesprockets .38 are. arranged .in pairs with. the sprockets. with the. sprockets of each. pair. of different. size to permit .a sprocket. chain 44 to betrained abouta selected...pair of sprocketsfor driving. theshaft. 40 atfla predetermined speed. A wire. cage 461 is. securedto .the, platform. and encloses the sprockets 38,142.

The forward. portion. of the, platform. 22. supports a depending tool chest 48 whose; interior is accessiblethrough.axropening. in .the platform that...isY..normal1y....closed by a closure. 50. The closure 5.0...is-located between .pairsof side sup-. ports-'iLand .54 that rotatably. support spools or drums Stand 58Jabout whichare wound elec-. trical wires-.=(iilv for. a purpose. later to be described...

.A pair v of internallythreaded vertical sleeves 62 is fixed. by weldingor theliketo the forward end. ofthe. .frameand-one of these sleeves receivably engages a..jack screw .64. having-a. lower smooth cylindrical end 66. A pressure foot 68 is threadedon the screw 64 andconstitutes an anchorinl;v means for guy wires orthe-like when the machine isanchored in adesired position.

The:..trailer..l0 is off sucha sizeas topermit the -.sameto be manually pulled. through v.doorways, however,.a hitch flllis. mounted .at .the forward-end of the. frame to permit the. frame. tobe readily attached to..a towing vehicle so .that. the machine maybe moved from onelocation to another. in ,a convenient manner.

i ..The. power plant, is, preferably of the electric type and. includes. a; power- .box 1 2 and .a .control switch 14. A conductor 16 extends outwardly from the box 12 and is adapted to be electrically coupled to the wires 60 when the machine is located relatively far from an outlet box or source of current.

A cover I8 is provided for the frame I0 and houses the power plant, the winch, the transmission gearing or sprockets and the reels, or spools. The cover is suitably locked, as at 00, to the frame to prevent unauthorized use of the machine.

The winch supports an internally toothed ring gear 82 that meshes with a pinion carried by a stub shaft 84. The stub shaft 84 is rotatably supported by a side member 86 and supports a brake drum 88 and another pinion or small gear 50 that meshes with a large gear 92. The gear 92 is driven by a pinion 94 on the shaft 40.

The drum 88 is embraced by a brake band 96. one end of which is adjustably secured to the member 85 and the other end of which is attached to an operating lever 98 that is pivoted to the member 80. The lever 98 is urged to a brake releasing position by a spring I00. As the lever 98 is manually urged in one direction, the band 95 will be tightened about the drum 88 to reduce the speed the drum I8 is rotating.

The drum supports a ratchet I02 for engagement by a pivotal pawl I04 to lock the shaft 84 against back rotation.

The supporting shaft I05 for member 82 is slidably and rotatably received in a bearing I06 mounted on side member 80. The shaft I05 is formed with a pair of longitudinally spaced grooves in its outer periphery for selectively registering with a slot in the bearing I08 and these grooves are so arranged that when one groove is in registry with the slot the teeth 92 and 94 are engaged whereas when the other groove is in registry with the slot, the teeth 02 and 0d are disengaged.

Means is provided for selectively retaining the teeth 32 and 9-1 engaged and disengaged. This means consists of a bar I08 that extends transversely across the bearing I00 and which enters the slot in bearing I06 and one of the grooves in shaft I35. The ends of a spring IIO are secured to the ends of bar I08 and the spring IIO surrounds the bearing I06 to hold bar I08 in the slot and a selected groove.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A cable pulling machine comprising a wheeled frame, a platform mounted on the frame, a cable drum supported on the platform for rotation, a power means mounted on the platform, a drive connection between said cable drum and said power means, guide means on the platform and swingable back and forth along side of the cable drum for guiding cable being applied to or removed from the cable drum, vertically adjustable jaclr means carried by the frame for selectively retaining the frame horizontal and in a vertically inclined position, and means adjustably mounted on the jack means forming anchoring means for guy wires, whereby the frame may be retained anchored in a desired position.

2. The combination of claim 1 and a tool chest secured to and depending from the platform, said platform having an opening for access into the tool chest, and a closure hinged to said platform 1 for closing the opening therein.

3. A cable pulling machine comprising an elongated frame including pairs of legs at one of its ends, axles carried bysaid legs and wheels on said axles, a jack means at the other end of said frame for selectively raising and lowering the frame about the wheels as a fulcrum, anchor means for guy wires adjustable on the jack means whereby guy wires may anchor the frame in a desired position, a platform on the frame, a cable drum disposed transversely of the frame intermediate the ends of the frame and supported on the platform for rotation, power means on the platform and operatively connected to said drum, and a brake mechanism connected to the drum.

4. A cable pulling machine comprising an elongated frame including pairs of legs at one of its ends, axles carried by said legs and wheels on said axles, a jack means at the other end of said frame for selectively raising and lowering the frame about the wheels as a fulcrum, anchor means for guy wires adjustable on the jack means whereby guy wires may anchor the frame in a desired position, a platform on the frame, a cable drum disposed transversely of the frame intermediate the ends of the frame and supported on the platform for rotation, power means on the platform and operatively connected to said drum, guide rollers on the end of said frame that supports said jack means, guide means on said platform for guiding cable being applied to or removed from the drum, and a brake mechanism operatively connected to said drum.

5. A portable cable pulling machine comprising an elongated wheeled frame of such a width as to permit the same to pass through doorways, said frame including a forward end and a rear end, said rear end supporting the wheels of the frame, jack means at the forward end of the frame, a hitch also at the forward end of the frame, a platform on the frame, a cable drum rotatably supported on the platform, a motor mounted on the platform, an adjustable drive connection between said cable drum and said motor to vary the speed at which the drum is rotated and including a driven gear and a ring gear movable into and out of mesh with the driven gear and latch means selectively locking the ring gear in and out of mesh with the driven gear, a brake mechanism operatively connected to the drum, and guide means on the platform for cable being applied to or removed from the drum.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said drive connection includes a pair of spaced parallel shafts, a series of various sized sprockets on each shaft, and an endless sprocket chain embracing a selected sprocket on each shaft, one of said shafts being connected to the drum and the other of said shafts constituting the drive shaft of the motor.

7. The combination of claim 5 wherein said brake mechanism includes a brake drum, a brake band embracing said brake drum, and a spring urged, manually actuated lever connected to said band for tightening the band about the brake drum. 7 a

- WILBROD A. 'CHAUVIN.

References Cited in the file Of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,810,143 Okey June 16, 1931 2,221,903 Abramson Nov. 19, 1940 2,223,110 Kempe Nov. 26, 1940 2,286,781 Abramson June 16, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 742,068 France Feb. 2'7, 1933 

